by Mara Jacobs
But more important than his and Katie’s feelings were that of his child. He would not have his child raised without a father. And without his name. There was no way that a marriage with mutual attraction and respect - if not love - wouldn’t be better than his child never knowing who he was.
Like Darío and his father.
He pulled into the golf course parking lot, not surprised to see it full. Sunday morning was a heavy golf time for amateur players. Having been raised by a clubhouse cook, he knew the workings of golf courses. He had designed one himself, and constantly had offers to do more. Darío had thought he’d design courses when he could no longer be competitive. He had thought that to be many years off, after the regular Tour and several years on the Champions Tour after turning fifty.
It was a thought that bore more weight now that he would be a father.
He gathered his clubs and walked to the clubhouse. Lizzie met him halfway. Her stepson, Stevie, whom Darío met yesterday, took his bag from him and began heading to the first tee. Darío started to follow the boy, but Lizzie stopped him with a hand to his arm.
“Darío, I’m so sorry about this. I think it’s wonderful that you’re going through with it. Actually, I wasn’t sure if you’d show or not, but…” She seemed nervous. In Darío’s short acquaintance with her, Lizzie’d never seemed nervous.
“Why wouldn’t I come, Lizzie? I told you last night, it would be my pleasure to help out.”
“Well yes, but that was before the raffle. What a stupid idea. I was just trying to get as much money as possible for that poor little boy’s medical expenses,” she explained.
Darío was still confused. “I don’t understand? Was the raffle unsuccessful?”
“You weren’t there for the raffle?” Lizzie asked.
He shook his head. “No. Katie was tired. We left right after the auction.”
Lizzie groaned and raised her eyes skyward. “Oh, man. So you don’t know. And Katie doesn’t know.”
“Know what?” Darío was concerned now that Lizzie mentioned Katie.
“Who won the raffle,” Lizzie said.
Again, Darío shook his head. “No, we left before that. But why would it matter to me who won the raffle? I don’t know anyone here, anyway. And why would Katie care who…” He didn’t need to finish his sentence to know who won. With one look at the discomfort on Lizzie’s face, his suspicions were confirmed. “Ron Lipton won didn’t he?”
Lizzie nodded. “I’m so sorry. We sold over a hundred tickets. What are the odds he’d win? We could cancel, if you want. I could say you got sick or something. We could reschedule Petey’s round and, I don’t know, I’d come up with some plan about the raffle entries.”
Darío had never missed a scheduled round of golf in his life. Had not withdrawn from a tournament even with a dreadful flu and a temperature over one hundred and two. He would not mar that record here in the Copper Country.
“No, I will play with Pete and Ron.”
He heard the sigh of relief that escaped Lizzie. “Thanks, Darío, you’re a class act,” she said and was already moving away toward the first tee. Darío followed her.
At the tee were two men, both large, with strong, muscular physiques. Darío recognized the blond man as Ron. The one with black hair must be Pete Ryan. Darío hadn’t met him yesterday but knew him to be a local who played for the Red Wings and was a close friend to Lizzie and Katie. Probably to Ron as well.
Well, it wouldn’t be the relaxing round of golf he’d thought. Pulling Lizzie to his side and speaking low so the two men they approached wouldn’t hear him, he asked, “Ron doesn’t know about me, does he?”
“No. Just Al and I know about the baby. And just Katie’s family knows the two of you are traveling together. I’m sure the whole town will know soon enough with Katie’s sisters-in-law loving small town gossip, but nobody knows yet.”
“And Pete Ryan?”
Lizzie shook her head. “Nope. He just got into town this week. He was in Florida visiting my brother Zeke. We haven’t even had a chance to catch up yet.”
Darío felt better as he stepped forward to meet the men. He could play dumb for one round of golf. Pretend to know Katie only as Lizzie’s friend. That was how they’d met. The rest…well…these men did not need to hear the rest from him. He’d let the small town gossip mill take care of that after they left town. The news of the baby could wait until they came back in a few months.
Lizzie made the introductions. Darío shook both men’s hands, surprised at how firm and solid Ron’s felt. What did he expect? That a man who cheated on his wife would somehow have an inferior handshake?
They stepped to the first tee and began play. All three shots were down the middle with Darío’s drive nearly even with the other two. He didn’t mind. Length was not his game. Finesse around the greens and laser approach shots were what had won him his green jackets. Stevie had recruited a couple of buddies to caddy for the other men and they started down the fairway.
Lizzie pulled Darío back as he made to follow. “Do you want me to go with you guys? I hadn’t planned on it, but I could walk the course with you.”
Darío liked that idea. Some sort of buffer. He wasn’t sure what he needed a buffer from, but the thought appealed to him. Then he looked at Lizzie. Pregnant, large, Lizzie. Who had just spent who knows how many hours putting this weekend together. She looked worn out and Darío couldn’t imagine her waddling over eighteen holes.
As if reading his mind she said, “I could go get a cart. I’ve arranged for beverages to be brought out to you later, I could just take that cart now and follow you the whole way.”
Darío felt like a coward, needing this woman to protect him. He smiled and laid a hand on her shoulder. “There’s no need. Most of the time in these situations, the men only want to talk golf. They want some pointers on their game, they want to hear stories from me about the Tour. If they don’t know of my involvement with Katie, I see no reason why her name would even come up.”
“Oh, her name will come up alright,” she said. “Petey hasn’t seen Ron yet either. I mean, hasn’t seen him since Ron left Katie last fall. I would imagine Petey has a few choice words for him.” She looked down the fairway to the group of golfers then noticed her stepson about halfway between, waiting on Darío. “And none of those words are ones I want Stevie to hear. Maybe I should come along after all.”
Darío shook his head. “I’m sure it will be fine. Go home and get some rest, Lizzie, you look exhausted.”
She sighed and rubbed her enormous stomach. “I am. I will. Petey said he’d bring Stevie home after you’re done, so I thought I’d just go home and take a nap.” She started to turn away, then faced Darío again. “If you’re sure?”
He nodded. “Of course. Please, go home, we’ll be fine.” He watched her as she walked away, her full hips swaying side to side, her steps heavy, her gait uncomfortable. She put her hand to the small of her back and rubbed. “Lizzie,” Darío said. She turned. “How far along are you?”
She chuckled. “Just six months if you can believe that. I know. I look huge, like I could go at any minute.” Darío said nothing, although he agreed with her.
“Don’t worry about Katie, Darío. She and I have totally different body types. She’ll love being able to walk the course with you on Tour. I’m sure she’ll be one of those lucky people who won’t show for a long time. And then when she does, she’ll look like she’s swallowed a basketball, not spread all over heck the way I am.” Again, Darío wisely kept his mouth shut, which only made Lizzie laugh more. “That’s okay, I made my peace with Katie looking like…well…Katie a long time ago. Besides, this time I’m putting on weight for all the right reasons.” She walked toward the clubhouse and Darío started down the first fairway.
They were spread out enough on the fairway to only allow talk between each player and their caddy. But when they got to the green, all three men were standing in close proximity as they marked their balls and
lined up their shots.
Darío didn’t want to stare at Ron, but he couldn’t help it. It was easy to see how a woman would fall for him. Darío had to admit, Ron was a very handsome man in the traditional blond, golden-boy type. His demeanor was easy, his movements fluid. Ron caught Darío staring at him and Darío quickly covered with a suggestion for Ron on his putting grip.
“Unless you would prefer I don’t offer you advice,” Darío added.
Ron shook his head. “No, I’d love anything you have to offer.”
“I’ve got a few things I could offer,” Petey Ryan said.
Ron looked at Petey, then nodded his head toward Darío. “Can we save this, Petey? I’d really just like to enjoy this round of golf. Watch Mr. Luna, learn what I can from him.”
Mr. Luna? The man was the same age as Darío! “Please, call me Darío,” he said.
“You honestly think you and I aren’t going to get into it?” Petey asked Ron.
The men finished putting and started walking to the second tee, the three boys trailing along behind them. Darío was happy to see that they were not within hearing range. Stevie must have his stepmother’s good sense.
Ron hadn’t answered Petey and apparently the hockey star was not going to let the subject drop. “We can do it now, we can do it on the eighteenth, we can do it all over the golf course. But if you seriously think you’re going to get off of this course without hearing it from me you’re even more full of shit than I always thought.”
He should just ignore them, Darío thought. Pretend that he’s not getting it. But some perverse elf seemed to be sitting on his shoulder, egging him on. This would be his only chance to see the real Ron Lipton. A man’s true personality came out on a golf course like no other place.
“Gentlemen,” he said, “is there something bothering you?”
Petey snorted. Ron flushed and said, “I’m sorry, Darío, I don’t mean to bring you into our personal issue.”
This caused a laugh from Petey, though not a friendly one. “Issue? That’s what we’re going to call it? Our issue? Oh, we’ve got an issue alright.”
“Perhaps we would be better off playing these rounds individually?” Darío offered, praying they would say no. The thought of golfing alone with Ron was not appealing, and he was beginning to enjoy Petey’s jabs at Ron.
Both men shook their heads. “No. Sorry. I’m really looking forward to this. It means the world to me to play with someone of your stature,” Ron said. It was not said with a fawning that would have turned Darío off, but with the understanding of a man who knows he can learn from another.
Darío turned to Petey who waved the thought away. “Whatever. I’ll behave. I want a few pointers, too.” Petey stepped up to the tee box and addressed the ball.
Darío nodded. “Well, then, you can start by standing six inches closer to the ball when you tee off.”
Petey looked over his shoulder at Darío, who nodded his head toward Petey’s feet. Petey furrowed his brows as if to argue and Darío nodded again to Petey’s stance. Petey reluctantly moved his feet closer to the ball. “This feels really uncomfortable,” he said.
“Try it.”
Petey took his swing and the ball sailed at least twenty yards further than his drive on the first hole. “Holy shit,” Petey said. Darío tried not to smile.
Ron teed off. Darío didn’t say anything, even though Ron looked at him hopefully. Darío teed off and the three walked down the fairway.
They played the next several holes with Darío talking to Petey and Ron about golf, and Ron and Petey ignoring each other. Darío enjoyed talking with Stevie, asking him about the area, the schools, what kids his age did for fun. He usually talked with the sign bearers during tournaments, but never had he paid so close attention when talking with a child before. The thought that his child would most likely spend a good share of its time here in the Copper Country made Darío curious about the area.
He began to think about Katie and their child’s future in more concrete terms. They would get married. He would cut back his schedule to maybe twenty or so tournaments a year. Get a house in Florida to have a home base closer to tournaments than the U.P. They could spend the summers here, the falls in Spain and the winters and springs in Florida and at Tour stops. When the child started school, he would cut back even more and only play tournaments in the summer when Katie and the child could come with him. Eventually he would design courses for a living, only traveling when necessary.
He had it mapped out neatly. It was a lovely picture. Except for the fact that Katie didn’t want to marry him. And he couldn’t be absolutely sure the child was his until after it was born and they were able to perform DNA tests.
There were some snags.
That was what would hopefully work itself out during the next few months.
He was pulled out of his planning by Ron’s angry voice. “Jesus Christ, Petey, I fucked up. Okay? Don’t you think I know that?”
They were at the tee on the tenth hole. Near the clubhouse. They’d been playing smoothly but apparently while Darío was mentally picking out houses in Florida, Pete and Ron had started in again. Darío looked to find the boys, but they were gathered around the cart that had appeared, eating sandwiches, guzzling colas and flirting with the girl driving the cart.
He walked over to the two men. “Please keep your voices down. I know Lizzie wouldn’t want Stevie to hear that type of language.” He felt like a schoolmarm scolding children. Not a tone he liked on himself. He silently cursed Ron and Pete for putting him in the position.
He expected the men to part, but they still stood toe to toe. Ron looked his way. “I’m sorry, Darío, you shouldn’t be a party to this. But apparently Petey’s not going to let it die.”
“Let it die? Let it die? You fuck around on one of my closest friends, break her heart and you expect me to just let it die? I thought you knew me better than that.”
Darío knew he should try to intervene again, but he didn’t. They were taking the break at the turn that most golfers took and the boys would be busy at the beverage and sandwich cart for a while. Better to just let the two men get this over with now and then play the rest of the round in silence.
Assuming Ron could golf with two broken arms.
“I didn’t fuck around on Katie,” Ron said.
Petey raised his eyebrows at that. So did Darío, but thankfully Ron was looking at Petey and didn’t see Darío’s reaction.
“Yeah. Right. Seems to me there’s a little kid out there who proves otherwise,” Petey said. He took a step closer to Ron. The men were of equal height and width, both huge, hulking men. Darío didn’t know who he’d put his money on if it did come to blows. Probably Petey. He looked like he knew how to play dirty.
Ron held up his hands. Not in surrender, but in a wait and see manner. “Listen, I don’t expect you to understand. But you have to know I never intended to hurt Katie.”
Petey took a deep breath, ran his fingers through his already tousled hair, and said, “Make me understand.”
“What?” Ron said.
Petey took a step back, as if literally giving Ron room to tell his tale. “Make me understand. We go back a long time, Ron. But that long time is because of Katie. Nobody would tell me what all was going on up here last winter. I’m out on the road. I know there’s a shit storm happening here and all I can do is call in. All Lizzie would say was that you were screwing some chick and got her knocked up. That Katie couldn’t even function. That she was a total mess. I’m in freakin’ Pittsburgh when I hear that. Do you have any idea how much I wanted to just chuck the whole season and come home?”
Darío saw Ron wince at that, but he wasn’t sure if it was from the thought that Katie had been distraught or that Lizzie had summed up his indiscretions so bluntly.
“So tell me what happened, Ron. As you see it,” Petey said. He took another step back, giving Ron more room.
Darío knew he should turn and leave. Join the boys at the
cart. Give these two men, these one-time friends, the privacy they deserved. But he didn’t. Couldn’t. He wouldn’t miss this opportunity to hear from Ron’s own lips what type of total dick he’d been. The rationalizations he would give to his cheating on Katie. The excuses he would offer up.
“No excuses, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Ron began. Darío was taken aback. Had he voiced his thoughts out loud? But Ron wasn’t talking to him, he was addressing Petey. Both men had become oblivious to Darío’s presence.
“Good, ‘cause I wouldn’t buy any anyways,” Petey said.
Ron took a deep breath, let it out in a long sigh. “I slept with Amber once, Petey. Once. It was stupid and I hadn’t intended for it to happen. But it was only once. I wasn’t out screwing around on Katie. I wasn’t having an affair.”
Darío and Petey were both silent, waiting for Ron to continue.
“I don’t expect you to understand how it was for Katie and me then. The doctor’s visits. The shots. The hormones. The sex only when she was ovulating. The cold, clinical sex life we’d had for the last few years. Whenever Katie’s period would come, she’d go into a three day funk. She’d pulled away from me, Petey. She wouldn’t talk to me about it. She shut me out. She’d only confide in Lizzie and Alison.” He looked away, down the tenth fairway, as if the rolling green landscape could help him escape.
Darío expected Petey to jump in. To challenge Ron on his description of Katie, of their marriage. It certainly did not describe the Katie Darío knew. But Petey remained silent. Darío didn’t know if that was telling or not.
“I felt so helpless. My wife was hurting and I couldn’t help. Hell, I might have been the cause, they didn’t know. So there was always that between us. The unspoken “whose fault is this?” question. We’d wanted kids so badly, for so long. It was something we talked about all the time when we were first married. By last winter it was like the elephant in the room. We couldn’t even talk anymore. Can you imagine that? The woman you shared every waking moment with for seventeen years and you can’t even thinking of something to say to her over breakfast that won’t eventually turn to the subject of babies.
